The Astronomy Thread

Edaw said:

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No need for further investigation on the failure.

I WAS thinking the same thing, Damn it he Jinxed it!

Tuco said:

I'm just a layman but doesn't it seem weird to build so much stuff that gets BTFO during launch? If you're launching these things every few days, how can those nearby structures not get distintegrated?

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My armchair rocket scientist theory is that because not all engines lighted it was slow to get moving and as a result it subjected the pad to a slightly weaker but substantially longer exhaust blast, which caused it to fail structurally. Like moving your finger through a lighter flame quickly is fine but holding it in the flame for a few seconds is not, even if the flame is turned down a bit. Wouldn't be surprised if they announce soon that they have to scrap and rebuild the platform.

It's definitely something that needs work because it sent chunks of concrete flying everywhere. Bad enough if it happens to equipment nearby but it can also damage the rocket.


Most rockets use a water deluge system that floods the area below the rocket with hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to protect the pad from heat and sonic damage (rockets can get loud enough that the sound waves alone can cause damage).

Deluge system test for a smaller rocket

Another image of the concrete flying everywhere

Lambourne said:

It's definitely something that needs work because it sent chunks of concrete flying everywhere.

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From comments on that twitter thread:
Car's owner was an idiot for leaving it that close.

I'm assuming that whoever owned that car worked on the project so they knew they were taking a risk leaving it there. Same goes for the cameras. There's always the chance of a big kaboom with a rocket launch. Looks like a 20 year old Chrysler minivan so not like it was worth much.

The actual launch sites for Starship have flame diverter tunnels at NASA. Boca doesn't due to at the time in 2020 the EPA/other agencies said much would have to be studied to put in a tunnel so Elon said skip it, even tweeted in 2020 it may be a mistake.
That's why there wasn't one.
If you watch the first 10 seconds of ignition before they show raptor status it is clear a nuke went off. Car sized chunks of concrete flew up 100 meters into the air.
Entirely possible raptors were damaged, leading ultimately other failures.

As for the cars, believe it or not it was mostly media/film crew cars. Which makes it so great.

A bit more insider info:

"It looks like the rocket blasted massive quantities of dirt and concrete up into the sky when it throttled up for liftoff. It is likely that some of this hit the rocket and caused damage of several kinds. The engines seemed relatively healthy for a while, and the software was able to manage the situation until about 10km up, but after that point we hit the limits of its ability to adapt, and we lost control. Overall the software performed as expected. I imagine we'll upgrade the pad and fly again later this year."

Tuco said:

The owner is probably having some awkward conversations right now, but there's also a bajillion dollars of more sensitive infrastructure closer to the blast zone. The dude's car is pretty minor compared to what they need to repair.

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I look forward to the Farmers insurance ad with JK Simmons